1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an information processing apparatus, a data processing method, and an information processing system for outputting image information to an image output apparatus such as an ink jet printer to receive the image information. The invention also relates to a computer readable memory medium to realize the data processing method.
2. Related Background Art
Generally, in a conventional driver software which is applied to an image output apparatus for receiving line-divided image information, fundamentally it is a general way that the line-divided information according to a common data format except for a resolution/print color, and the like of the image output apparatus is received and subsequent data processes which are necessary in association with the installation peculiar to an individual output apparatus are executed in each of the output apparatuses.
In recent years, however, since the image output apparatuses are widely used, it is demanded to provide those apparatuses by lower costs. On the other hand, an information processing ability of a host apparatus to which the image output apparatuses are connected is rapidly increasing. In consideration of such circumstances, there has been tried a method whereby a part of the processes performed in the image output apparatus are shifted to driver software for the image output apparatus which operates in the host apparatus, thereby reducing a hardware amount in the image output apparatus and suppressing the costs of the apparatus.
For example, as such driver software, there is driver software for generating an emission pattern of a waterproof reinforcement agent which is emitted in accordance with each pixel forming an image, driver software for shifting a phase of line-divided image information in accordance with a deviation of a physical position of each color print head to form the image and sending the resultant image information, or the like.
As such an image output apparatus is widespread and is often used in a daily life, as sizes of the papers which are used for recording, as well as the conventional office-use regular size papers of the A4 size and B5 size, longitudinal papers of irregular sizes of shapes like a hanging screen and a transversal screen are often used.
As such an image output apparatus, an image output apparatus for recording in the lateral direction such that recording colors are arranged in the raster direction in parallel is initially a general apparatus. However, a head arrangement in which recording means of the respective colors are arranged in the subscanning direction (vertical arrangement) is often used because of advantages such that the apparatus can be designed in a compact size in the raster direction, a blur of an image in a color band boundary portion, and a color deviation depending on the scanning direction of the recording image are small, there is a superiority in terms of the costs of the sole body of the print recording head, and the like.
In the conventional image output apparatus with the lateral arrangement head construction, usually, there is used a method known as a “line-sequential format” whereby image information of each color is transferred in the main scanning direction (hereinafter, referred to as a “raster direction”) of the recording head every raster or on a unit basis of a line in which a plurality of rasters are combined, namely, a method whereby image data of Y, M, C, and Bk of the same raster or line is transmitted or received, and after that, the image data of Y, M, C, and Bk of the next raster or line is transmitted and received.
Specifically speaking, the above method is realized by a combination of a raster image data transmission command, a raster (subscanning direction) position shift command, inter-page raster number setting command, a new page command, and the like.
On the other hand, in the conventional image output apparatus with the vertical arrangement head construction, in the case where transmission of color data when performing a color recording was executed by using the “line-sequential system”, with respect to a memory area of a bit map in which image data has been developed (hereinafter, such a memory area is called a “print buffer”), an area that is remarkably larger than that in case of the lateral arrangement head is necessary.
An example of trying to solve such a problem is a method whereby a timing of image information which is transmitted to the image output apparatus is previously shifted by only a position offset for a reference color of the recording head and the image information is transmitted as shown in JP-A-08-142349 or JP-A-08-150735.
That is, if image information of an image as shown in FIG. 17 is transmitted by using a recording head having a structure as shown in FIG. 16, a head raster of Y is used as a reference, a position offset of 32 rasters is added to the image information of M, a position offset of 64 rasters is added to the image information of C, a position offset of 96 rasters is added to the image information of Bk as shown in FIG. 18, and the resultant image information is transmitted.
That is, it is a method whereby the image data of the first raster of M is transmitted subsequently to the image data of the 33rd raster of Y and the image data of the 65th raster of M, the image data of the 33rd raster of C, and the image data of the first raster of Bk are transmitted subsequently to the image data of the 97th raster of Y, (hereinafter, such a transmitting method of the image information is called an “offset transmission”).
By using such an offset transmission, a memory area of a bit map in which image data has been developed in the image output apparatus can be remarkably reduced. Even in this case, so long as the paper size of a recording medium is a single sheet, by combining the raster image data transmission command, raster (subscanning direction) position shift command, inter-page raster number designation command, and new page command, the recording apparatus can be controlled by a command system similar to the method of simultaneously transmitting the image information of the respective colors constructing the same raster.
Hitherto, in case of printing out by using OA equipment, it is performed via application software installed therein. For example, in case of recording to longitudinal papers of an irregular size, there are mainly a method whereby a program to record by using the longitudinal papers of an irregular size is set into the application software and the recording is performed and a method whereby a program to record by using regular size papers of the A4 size, B5 size, and the like which are ordinarily used is set into the application software.
In printer driver software installed in the host apparatus such as personal computer or word processor, the longitudinal papers are processed by regarding such that the regular size papers are continuous in the subscanning direction without a gap, thereby recording.
In case of using the former method, the application software which can record to the longitudinal papers is limited to software which has previously been designed on the assumption that the recording is performed to the longitudinal papers as a prerequisite. With respect to this point, according to the latter method, so long as the application software can record to the regular size papers, there is an advantage such that the recording to the longitudinal papers can be performed with respect to all of the software.
Therefore, hitherto, the recording to the longitudinal papers has usually been performed by using the latter method.
In recent years, even for an output matter of an image output apparatus such as an ink jet printer or the like, at the time of the printing of addresses of the mails or the printing of a hanging screen which is presented in the outdoors, it is demanded to improve the waterproof so as not to cause a situation such that the printed contents are blurred due to the adhesion of the water by raindrops or the like and they cannot be read or a situation such that even if the printed contents can be read, the printed surface is remarkably polluted. As one of the measures for solving the above problems, there has been realized a print system in which the waterproof is realized by a method whereby a waterproof reinforcement agent to reinforce the waterproof by reacting with the ink is simultaneously emitted to a printing position upon printing.
In such a print system, generally, with reference to data to emit ink of (Bk, C, M, and Y) or the like which are used for printing, data for the waterproof reinforcement agent of patterns corresponding to them is formed and the formed data is printed by using a printing mechanism similar to the print data of each color.
As for a method of forming an emission pattern of the waterproof reinforcement agent, for example, there is considered a method whereby the OR of the print data of the respective colors which are printed to the same position is calculated and is used as print data for the waterproof reinforcement agent, thereby guaranteeing that a dot of the waterproof reinforcement agent is also certainly printed at a position where a dot forming an image is printed, or the like.
The process to decide the emission pattern of the waterproof reinforcement agent has conventionally been executed by using the software/hardware in the conventional printer. This method has advantages such that as a format of image data that is received by the printer, it is sufficient to transmit the same image data without being aware of the presence or absence of the waterproof reinforcement agent, namely, with respect to at least the image data portion regarding the printing, the common image data can be used without being aware of the presence or absence of the waterproof reinforcement agent in the host apparatus.
However, in the case where a part of the processes which are performed in the image output apparatus as mentioned above are shifted to the driver software for the image output apparatus, for example, when the processing contents are individually realized as subroutines in the driver, not only a program interface has to be merely designed but also an amount of codes of the driver software which is loaded onto a memory increases.
Further, since those routines depend on the individual hardware of the image output apparatus, general readable performance for the program designer which is not familiar to the installation of the individual image output apparatus is lost and it also becomes a large obstacle on maintenance and management of the software.
In case of using the method whereby the longitudinal papers are processed by regarding such that the regular size papers are continuous in the subscanning direction without a gap in the printer driver software installed in the host apparatus by using the conventional “offset transmission” system, thereby recording, a problem occurs in a processing method of the new page command in a connecting portion between the pages before and after the present page.
For example, in the case where image information of an image in which a plurality of pages are continuous in the subscanning direction as shown in FIG. 17 is transmitted without a gap, the image data should be transmitted in a form such that a blank area occurring by the new page command also has an offset every color as shown in FIG. 18.
However, since the reference position differs every color, for example, even if Y is used as a reference color and the new page command is sent in accordance with the reference color, with regard to the other colors, since raster data delayed from the reference color by the time of only each offset value has been sent, the processes of the new page command according to the timing of the reference color cannot be immediately performed.
Now, considering a procedure to form data for the waterproof reinforcement agent in the printer apparatus, it is necessary to execute the following procedure.                The print data is obtained from the host apparatus and written into the memory . . . <1>        The print data developed on the memory is read out and converted into the actual print image and is again written onto the memory . . . <2>        The print image is read out with respect to each color that is printed at the same position . . . <3>        A pattern of the waterproof reinforcement agent is determined on the basis of the print images and is written onto the memory . . . <4>        The actual print images derived by the above steps <2> and <4> are transmitted to the print head . . . <5>        
As compared with the case where the waterproof reinforcement agent is not used, the processing steps <3> and <4> are newly added. According to an installation example of a certain printer apparatus, the following processes have been installed.                <1> DMA transmission by a dedicated circuit        <2> Software process by the CPU        <3> Software process by the CPU        <4> Software process by the CPU        <5> DMA transmission by a dedicated circuit        
With respect to the above installation example, when comparing the traffics of the image data flowing on the data bus, they are as follows.
<1>Absence 1.0Presence 1.0<2>Absence 2.0Presence 2.0<3>Absence 0.0Presence 1.0<4>Absence 0.0Presence 1.25<5>Absence 1.0Presence 1.25
The data flowing on the data bus:                4.0: 6.5 . . . 1.625 times        
The data that is processed by the CPU:                2.0: 4.25 . . . 2.125 times        
Thus, the data amounts are remarkably increased. In this case, since it is possible to considered that most of the data flowing on the bus is occupied by the image data, when considering that the above function is installed in the printer, as compared with the case where it is unnecessary to form data for the waterproof reinforcement agent, it is necessary to raise a data processing amount per unit time by using a method of improving an operation clock, expanding a width of the data bus, or the like. Even by using any one of the above methods, it cannot help avoiding an increase in costs.